Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 13

[Steel-Fanged Lycan has been defeated.]

[Steel-Fanged Lycan has been defeated.]

Immediately after Suho obtained the Monarch of Fang’s sword, he continued to hunt the wolves, moving forward to clear a path outside the dungeon. With the assault team completely wiped out, he was the only hunter available for combat. He continued to wield his sword while protecting the miners who cautiously followed behind him.

[Level up!]

Once again, he leveled up.

“Aren’t you getting tired?”

“I’m good, for now. I’m doing fine,” Suho replied.

“Wow...”

The miners were amazed by Suho’s relentless swordsmanship as he swung his sword without rest. To those who didn’t know that leveling up restored health, Suho appeared to be an incredible monster with endless stamina.

No, that can’t be. He’s human just like the rest of us. Could it be that he’s enduring it all with sheer mental strength? It’s clear he’s trying hard not to show how tough it is because he’s worried about us.

They remembered how Suho was the young hero who had rescued people at the art gallery until he collapsed. It was now them who were receiving his help.

Is he on the same playing field as E-rank hunters? Not to mention he’s just a summoner.

The only explanation they could think of was his remarkable mental strength and determination, irrespective of his rank or abilities. However, in reality, it was all thanks to leveling up.

“Young Monarch, I see the gate.” Beru pointed at the light in the distance at the end of the cave.

“We’re saved...!” The miners, whose faces had been filled with tension and fear, finally brightened up.

Suho wiped his sweat away as he watched them rush out with excitement.

“Aren’t you coming too?” One of them turned around and called out to Suho.

“Eventually. I’ll stick around and see if there are any survivors left. I’ll bring them out with me.”

“Are you sure? You must be exhausted too...”

“I can manage for now.” In reality, Suho was in excellent condition, but he had to pretend to be struggling for appearance’s sake. He felt Beru’s silent gaze from behind, but he pretended not to notice.

***

Remaining in the dungeon, Suho began speaking to the Monarch of Fang’s sword. “Guide me back to where you were.” The sword was silent. Suho pretended to hand over the unresponsive sword to his trusted ant beast. “Beru, do you just want to devour this?”

“Yum.”

“Wait,” The sword urgently responded. It had seen how Beru devoured mana stones around the dungeon. “Why are you trying to go back to where I was?”

“I’m going to rescue anyone that may still be alive.”

“I’ve killed them all... No, wait, there might still be someone lucky enough to be clinging to life.” The Young Monarch handed the sword back to Beru, and its words changed right away. “Go left.”

Guided by the sword, Suho stepped forward. Magic beasts continued to attack him on their way, but with no one to protect, his movements became much freer. Sometime later, a mysterious ruin with people lying dead, covered in blood appeared before Suho. “So, it’s here.” He checked for any survivors.

“They’re all dead.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said... I mean, I had no other choice. I have a duty to protect this sanctuary. Besides, I can’t help it that I’m such an amazing sword...” The sword, sensing Suho and Beru’s gaze, desperately tried to explain.

At that moment, information about the sword came to Suho’s mind.

[Item: Rakan’s Fang

Acquisition Difficulty: ??

Type: Sword

Attack Power +30

A sword made from the fang of the King of Beasts, Rakan.

Rakan’s spirit resides within it, and if wielded by someone with low proficiency, it might even possess their physical form.

- Effect “Scorn of the Weak”: Causes the designated target to be in a state of fear for one minute (all attributes -50%).

- Effect “Fatal Blow”: Has a 15% chance to deal more than double damage.]

Compared to a goblin’s stone ax, this sword had significantly higher attack power. The hunters here had likely panicked due to the unfortunate possession of their comrade and then met their demise due to the panic.

“A fairly good sword, but it has a sinister ability. It becomes even more powerful when facing opponents weaker than itself.” Beru explained.

“What do you mean by sinister? And what’s wrong with the strong devouring the weak? In the world of hunters, when has any hunter targeted prey stronger than themselves!”

Suho eavesdropped on their conversation while tending to the bodies of the hunters. He removed the monster remains from the cart the deceased collectors had been pulling, and placed their bodies inside. To his surprise, black smoke began to slowly rise from the bodies—it was their shadows.

[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]

[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]

[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]

The deafening screams of the fallen hunters echoed in his ears.

“If you wish, these people can also be recruited as your soldiers, Your Highness.”

“Forget it.” Suho silently attended to the corpses, listening to their cries.

After the bodies had been taken care of, Beru, who had been observing the surroundings, returned to Suho. “I took a look around, just in case there were other artifacts that belonged to the Monarch of Fangs, but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything special besides this sword.”

“Who exactly is this Monarch of Fangs?”

Now that he had some respite, Suho asked the question that had been on his mind for a while. Beru drew shadows from his hand and crafted tiny shadow dolls no bigger than fingernails. As the dolls multiplied one by one, they took on various forms.

“In this universe, there were several beings known as the Monarchs, including the Monarch of Shadows, your father. The King of Beasts, the Monarch of Fangs. The King of Pests, the Monarch of Pestilence, and others. All these monarchs converged upon Earth, you see.” Among the small dolls, one emitted an exceptionally intense aura and ruthlessly severed the others. “And the Monarch of Shadows killed them all.”

“Ugh. How dare he do that to my lord...” Rakan’s Fang trembled in Suho’s hand. “It’s frustrating. If only my power was intact, I would have torn you all apart and fed you to the wolves. No, if I had known from the start that you were the Monarch of Shadow’s successor, I wouldn’t have let my guard down from the start.”

“If your strength had been intact?” Suho looked at Rakan’s Fang. “Are you saying it’s not whole right now?”

“Of course. I am the ultimate weapon created from the fang of Rakan, the King of Beasts.”

“Considering it only has an attack power of thirty, would it really be at its strongest?” Beru mockingly laughed at it.

“That’s what I mean by not being at full power! My original duty was to protect this sanctuary. Within this sanctuary, I could wield power almost equal to that of Rakan the King of Beasts, but...”

“But what?”

“In the end, I couldn’t protect this sanctuary. Losing the sanctuary meant losing that miraculous power.” Rakan’s Fang grumbled with a gloomy tone.

“The outcome was inevitable,” Beru explained. Worlds without their Monarch, their focal point, were torn apart into pieces and left to drift through the dimensional rift. Thus, forming dungeons, mere remnants of war. “And then, followers from outer universes forced cracks on the dimensional barrier in an attempt to invade Earth, which inadvertently connected these dungeons to this planet.” Beru’s eyes gleamed sharply. “And those invaders all bear grudges against this world. They were annihilated by my master, after all. Of course, they were the ones who provoked him first.”

“In the end, this is the relic of a defeated world, and there’s nothing more to gain here, right?” Suho asked.

“Don’t worry, Young Monarch. Leave it to me.” Beru cast a covetous gaze upon the sword. “Even from a dried squid, you can still squeeze out water. I’ll find a way to dissect it, no matter what.”

“Hmph. Threatening me won’t get you anywhere.” Rakan’s Fang responded with a fierce demeanor. But ten minutes later, the sword revealed everything it knew.

***

A few days later.

“Young Monarch, what’s on your mind?” Beru asked Suho. “Is it because you rejected their offer?”

After surviving the dungeon at Hanguk University, Suho had various issues that needed his attention. Waiting for him on the other side of the dungeon were association-backed hunters, who were at the scene after a request for reinforcement had been sent by the collection team. They were shocked to see that the dungeon was filled with the carcasses of magic beasts Suho had killed. Since then, he had received offers from several guilds. Of course, all of them were job offers for him to join as a collector or carrier.

“No. It’s not because of that.” He had no intention of accepting any of the offers since he had the ability to grow through the level-up system, unlike other hunters. While an ordinary E-rank hunter might have eagerly accepted a carrier contract from a large guild, Suho found such offers to be utterly unappealing. “I was thinking about what Rakan’s Fang revealed.”

The sword had mentioned that the sanctuary it had guarded was torn into several pieces and scattered through the dimensional rift. As a result, its power had weakened significantly. Even when it possessed Kim Yongjun’s body, the sword could control all the surrounding wolves, but the moment it stepped outside the sanctuary, the ability disappeared.

Still, it wasn’t entirely fruitless. Within the dimensional rift, there were other sanctuaries similar to the dungeon Rakan’s fang was found in, and inside them were more artifacts like it. And eventually, persuaded by Beru, the sword had divulged the location of one of those sanctuaries. The problem was that they needed to enter that dungeon as soon as possible.

According to Rakan’s Fang, there was no guarantee that the artifacts there had been preserved in their original condition. Even now, their power may be gradually waning as they drifted aimlessly through the dimensional rift.

“But of all places...”

“It’s because the dungeon is currently occupied by another guild, correct?” Beru asked.

“Yeah. And to make matters worse, it’s that infamous Hyena Guild.”

The Hyena Guild was notorious for being founded by former gang members. Many individuals awakened when the era of hunters dawned, and gang members were no exception. A guild created by such individuals couldn’t hide its true nature, and it had gained notoriety for exclusively engaging in sordid deeds.

“With the Young Monarch in such a weak state, unnecessary conflicts with other hunters could certainly pose a risk.” Beru was deep in thought.

The influx of the Monarch of Fang’s power into Earth was not a good omen. Considering recent events, a massacre had unfolded because it had fallen into the hands of a foolish amateur. The law of the jungle ruled the world of the Monarch of Fangs, and if any of his followers enforced it on Earth, it was clear that most humans would become prey.

Regardless, he didn’t think it was wise for the low-leveled Young Monarch to risk his safety. “Young Monarch, it’s best to gradually level up and get stronger first... Huh? What are you doing?”

Suho was hurriedly packing his belongings. “Oh, I’m getting ready to enter the dungeon.”

“What about the Hyena Guild?”

“Well, we can just sneak in.”